[Updated 5.10pm)
Crew from the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter this afternoon spotted a three-metre shark near the Byron Bay Surf Club close to the shore break where a local man was attacked this morning.
The helicopter crew then directed local lifeguards on jet skis to the area where it conducted a number of low level passes to direct the shark to open water.
The chopper crew also helped police and rescue volunteers in water craft search for any sharks along the town’s beach front.
The National parks and Wildlife Service were notified of the sighting.
[Updated 3.30pm]
Police say the man killed in a shark attack at Byron Bay this morning was a local aged in his 50s.
His wife arrived at Clarkes Beach after he failed to meet at an agreed meeting place.
The man was in the water around 10.45am when he was bitten on the right leg He was seen floating in shallow water, close to the shore line, and dragged onto the beach by onlookers.
The shark is now believed to be a white pointer.
An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The man was earlier today formally identified by a family member. Police confirmed he was a long-time Byron Bay resident.
Inspector Bobbie Cullen told media at the beach the man’s name would not be released till other relatives had been contacted.
Officers from Marine Area Command were looking for the shark in a bid to scare it out of the area.
[Earlier report]
A man has died after being attacked by a shark at Byron Bay just over this morning (Tuesday).
A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman told media the man, believed to be in his 40s, died on Clarkes Beach just after 11am.
Fairfax Media reported that witnesss called triple-0 at 10.40am to say that a man had been bitten by a shark at the southern end of the beach, off Lawson Street.
The NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said a doctor performed CPR on the man, but he could not be saved. He was pronounced dead on the beach.
It is understood the man was found floating in the water with a serious injury to his leg and onlookers dragged him back to the beach.
The Westpac rescue helicopter was at the scene at the time of this report (11.45am).
A NSW Police spokeswoman told Fairfax Media that a number of officers were also at the beach, describing the incident as a ‘possible shark attack’, but did not elaborate further.
A paddle-board rider told APN Media that he saw what he thought was a turtle and some seaweed in the water about 20 metres from where he was paddling and a shark about two metres long circling it, so he quickly returned to the beach.
At the beach, an onlooker suggested it was a person and the paddleboarder walked back into the water and dragged the body to shore.
Police have closed the beach.
A report is being prepared for the Coroner.
* This story was updated to reflect that the wife of Mr Wilcox was not on the beach at the time of the attack, something which was incorrectly quoted in all other media reports.
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